Writing and working on the internet since 1993, I've launched 6 companies, of which 2 (internet.com and Earthweb) went public and three were sold (Net Quotient, MoveableMedia, and Keepskor). I now work as the Chief Marketing Officer for Thinaire, the leader in monetizing the internet of things. More info can be found on TNL.net, my personal site.

In a world where TV is the next frontier, Google had two offerings: Google TV and, after the acquisition of Motorola, one of the largest set top box manufacturers in the world with the Motorola Home business. This meant that the company had deep penetration, through partnerships with cable, phone, and satellite companies, in America’s living rooms and beyond. In choosing Google TV, the company is doubling down on a strategy that has, so far, shown little progress compared to its competitors.

Companies like Apple and Microsoft are trying to get placement in the space that Google is abandoning. Apple is increasingly pushing its AppleTV through a low-cost device strategy, while Microsoft is leveraging its position in the gaming market with the Xbox to become more a full fledged player in digital distribution. Even Amazon has a horse in that race, since it’s added a video out to its popular Kindle Fire HD so it could stream movies and TV shows to a TV set.

Google had all the pieces from content hosting (YouTube) to software delivery (Google TV, Android) to penetration in the living room (Motorola Home) but seems to have not been able to assemble the puzzle together into a compelling offering. The company’s sole focus on Motorola’s patent portfolio made it blind to the opportunity it had in assembling and besting its competitors for control of the fourth screen.

Instead, the company will now have to figure out a way to get distribution of its offering on large screens. With Apple rumored to be entering the TV set world soon, the sale of the Motorola Home division may end up looking like a costly mistake next year. While Google does retain a share of equity in Arris Group as a result of this offering, it may come to regret this move.

On the other hand, it could be that the company is seeing past the hardware and looking at software as a long run solution. While Motorola Home was dominant in the US, it has been losing shares against faster, more nimble competitors on a global basis. For example, Huawei has been getting increasingly aggressive in the space, besting Google and Cisco in growing markets like India and China. This, in the end, may be the reason Google is letting go (and could also signal that Cisco will soon sell its own TV set top box unit) as Asian competitors may be turning set top boxes into commodities.

Such changes could complicate the road to next generation televisions for not only Google but also for players like Apple and Microsoft, when they try to go beyond the western world.

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The ‘omni’ channel concept not only applies to communicating with audiences/consumers however, whenever they want, but it also applies to the enabling infrastructure that is morphing into easy-to-use ecosystems. Google seems to be leaving out TV for now.

You should have researched before you spoke. All cable and satellite operators cancelled purchases of Motorola equipment once Google bought them because they feared Google would turn them into “dumb pipes.” The division was worthless under Google. Google now has all the knowledge from the company, and that’s all they need. They’re already creating their own set-top boxes with Google Fiber.

Do you have data backing your assertion. As far as I know, Verizon, Time-Warner Cable, Comcast and Dish are still sourcing boxes from Motorola. Where did you get your information from? If you’re correct, then Google must have pulled one of the genius moves of the century, selling a dead unit for over $2 billion.

Operators avoiding Moto boxes has been part of this story from the beginning. The very first exclusive reporting that Google was looking to sell the box business, back in March, noted the move was “in part because cable operators have shunned buying boxes from Motorola ahead of Google’s purchase.” http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/pulling_the_plug_1ENjOtYFNv3MBNzKw8aAZK

And imagine what a non-starter it would be for Google to try to put its own software on Moto boxes. No cable company wants to hasten the shift to watching online content on your TV that you don’t need a cable subscription for. The box business is worth more not owned by Google.

The sale of Motorola’s Cablebox business is a HUGE mistake for Google. With it, Google would already have an insider position in allowing GoogleTV features in millions of homes by simply adding it to the Cablebox EVERYONE HAS ALREADY.

Now, Google has to convince people and content providers to buy into the idea of GoogleTV – which they aren’t.

It’s called “Not every strategy works.” Though I’m sure they considered this option from the beginning, they decided this pursuit was not only the way they wanted Google to be portrayed as, but also long term how this contributes to the vision depicted then, if it’s not the same, don’t use that strategy. Your diagnosis seems like you’re a person trying to employ a strategy as quickly as possible without considering the consequences to any sort of failure that may come.